Tomas Doherty
Headline inflation in the Irish economy remained at a near four-decade high last month, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Consumer prices in the Republic rose by an average of 9.1 per cent in the 12 months to July, which is the same increase seen in June.
This means the Irish economy is seeing the fastest rate of price growth since 1984.
The main drivers of higher living costs were housing, energy, fuel and transport.
Electricity, gas and other fuels were up over 21.6 per cent year-on-year. Within this category, electricity prices were up 40 per cent, while gas prices rose by nearly 57 per cent.
The cost of home heating oil has soared by 92 per cent since this time last year, according to the CSO figures.
Within the food category, bread and cereals were up 9.5 per cent, meat was up by 11 per cent, while the cost of milk, cheese and eggs rose by 13 per cent.
The cost of motoring has also risen sharply, with petrol and diesel prices up 35 per cent and 45 per cent respectively. Airfares were up by an average of 48 per cent since July last year.
The CSO said diesel was up by 70 cents per litre (50.7 per cent) and petrol by 65 cents per litre (43.7 per cent) between June 2021 and June 2022.
Prices have been rising on an annual basis since April 2021, with an annual inflation of 5 per cent or more recorded each month since October last year.
The Central Bank warned last month that headline inflation is likely to rise above 10 per cent in the third quarter before falling back later in 2022.
